Day back injury flares again

Jason Day rides during his match against Jim Furyk today,

The Masters campaign by Jason Day has again been called into question after an apparent recurrence of a nagging back injury.

The Australian today lost the last two holes of his first match in the World Match Play Championship with Jim Furyk in Texas and immediately sought treatment after being visibly uncomfortable during the last 20 minutes of their game

The last song comes back three weeks after the day of the Arnold Palmer Invitational due to pain in connection with an annular disc crack. He left the course after just six holes on that occasion and received four cortisone injections around his back that night.

He returned to achieve a top 10 win at the Players Championship, but missed the cut from last week's Valspar championship

Day, who withdrew from the Masters of 2012 during the second round and also had to miss the 2016 US PGA Tour play-offs with a back injury, is successful at Augusta National.

But with the first men's championship less than two weeks away, he is now in a race against the clock to be fit.

Dag, the winner of the WGC Match Play 2014 and 2016, today blew a significant lead over the American veteran Furyk in the Austin Country Club.

He only built up a 3-up advantage and lost the next three holes with Furyk rattling a trio of birdies from the 10th hole.

The Queenslander three-putted the 17th to lose the lead before Furyk birdied the 18th with a 3m putt to win 2-up.

"I'm on the 9th tee 3-down and trying to figure out what happened, to be honest," Furyk said.

"I think my goal from there was just to play solid golf, try to make him earn every hole."

It was a mixed day for the Aussies with only Victorian Marc Leishman successful, a 2-up winner in Thailand, Kiradech Aphibarnrat.

Queenslander Cam Smith was 2-up through 12 holes, but made three bogeys in his next four holes to allow American Charles Howell to win 2 & 1.